It’s the little things that count
I’ve been reading a book called The Consumer’s Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists. As the title implies, it’s a look at what the typical consumer can do to lessen the damage being done to the environment.
The automobile, unsurprisingly, was overwhelmingly found to be the largest threat. Since we drive far less than the 20,000+ miles that was cited as a yearly average (7,000 is probably stretching it for us), I’m feeling pretty good about our relatively small environmental footprint in that regard.
Then there’s the matter of meat consumption. The processes required to support large-scale feedlots was found to be another source of environmental damage, particularly to water supplies. Luckily, we stopped with that nonsense several years ago and have no plans to resume our carnivorous ways. Why more people don’t get in on it is beyond me.
Then tonight, a new line was drawn in the sand as I changed our electricity generation company to Community Energy, Inc. Nearly all of our energy will now be supplied from wind turbines nestled among the green hills of Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It’s worth the additional $7.50 per month to know that my energy needs are no longer met by the crude practice of burning coal, for which Pennsylvania is known to have some of the highest polluting plants in the nation.
